New Approach Could Make Reusing Captured Carbon Far Cheaper, Less Energy-Intensive

admin — Thu, 25 Apr 2024 14:52:47 +0000

New Approach Could Make Reusing Captured Carbon Far Cheaper, Less Energy-Intensive admin Thu, 04/25/2024 - 10:52

Engineers at Georgia Tech have designed a process that converts carbon dioxide removed from the air into useful raw material that could be used for new plastics, chemicals, or fuels.

Their approach dramatically reduces the cost and energy required for these direct air capture (DAC) systems, helping improve the economics of a process the researchers said will be critical to addressing climate change.

The key is a new kind of catalyst and electrochemical reactor design that can be easily integrated into existing DAC systems to produce useful carbon monoxide (CO) gas. It’s one of the most efficient such design ever described in scientific literature, according to lead researcher Marta Hatzell and her team. They published details April 16 in Energy and Environmental Science, a top journal for energy-related research.

Get the full story on the College of Engineering website.

Summary sentence

A team led by Marta Hatzell designed a new electrochemical reactor to seamlessly integrate into direct air capture systems and turn CO2 into useful raw materials.

Summary

A team led by Marta Hatzell designed a new electrochemical reactor to seamlessly integrate into direct air capture systems and turn CO2 into useful raw materials.

Dateline

Thu, 04/25/2024 - 12:00

jstewart@gatech.edu

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Joshua Stewart
College of Engineering

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direct air caputre

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Thu, 04/25/2024 - 10:52

Photochemistry and a New Catalyst Could Make Fertilizer More Sustainable

admin — Thu, 11 Jan 2024 17:32:41 +0000

Photochemistry and a New Catalyst Could Make Fertilizer More Sustainable admin Thu, 01/11/2024 - 12:32

Georgia Tech engineers are working to make fertilizer more sustainable — from production to productive reuse of the runoff after application — and a pair of new studies is offering promising avenues at both ends of the process.

In one paper, researchers have unraveled how nitrogen, water, carbon, and light can interact with a catalyst to produce ammonia at ambient temperature and pressure, a much less energy-intensive approach than current practice. The second paper describes a stable catalyst able to convert waste fertilizer back into nonpolluting nitrogen that could one day be used to make new fertilizer.

Significant work remains on both processes, but the senior author on the papers, Marta Hatzell, said they’re a step toward a more sustainable cycle that still meets the needs of a growing worldwide population.

“We often think it would be nice not to have to use synthetic fertilizers for agriculture, but that’s not realistic in the near term considering how much plant growth is dependent on synthetic fertilizers and how much food the world’s population needs,” said Hatzell, associate professor in the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering. “The idea is that maybe one day you could manufacture, capture, and recycle fertilizer on site."

Get the full story on the College of Engineering website.

Summary sentence

New insight into the role of carbon in a low-temperature, light-based reaction may help create ammonia for fertilizer while a new catalyst offers a path to recycling the runoff.

Summary

New insight into the role of carbon in a low-temperature, light-based reaction may help create ammonia for fertilizer while a new catalyst offers a path to recycling the runoff.

Dateline

Thu, 01/04/2024 - 12:00

jstewart@gatech.edu

Contact

Joshua Stewart
College of Engineering

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Marta Hatzell

fertilizer

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Earth and Environment

Marta Hatzell

New Approach Could Make Reusing Captured Carbon Far Cheaper, Less Energy-Intensive

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Photochemistry and a New Catalyst Could Make Fertilizer More Sustainable

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